Governor DeWine Announces $61 Million in Brownfield Remediation Grants to Communities in 75 Counties

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Lt. Governor Jim Tressel, and Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik today announced $61 million in grants to help communities in 75 counties clean up contaminated properties and prepare them for new life.

The Department of Development is awarding this funding as part of the Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program. Today’s announcement includes $45.8 million for 84 cleanup and remediation projects and $15.3 million for 76 assessment projects.

“Sites like these do no good when they’re left alone to contaminate the soil and impact the health of our neighborhoods,” said Governor DeWine. “Throughout the past five years, we’ve changed the trajectory of hundreds of properties that once held our communities back, turning long-neglected eyesores into places of possibility.”

Since its launch in 2021, the Brownfield Remediation Program has provided nearly $780 million to support 841 projects in 87 counties.

“Any time we’re able to take a forgotten property and give it new life, it opens the door to new opportunities for the people who call that community home,” said Lt. Governor Tressel. “When we transform these sites, we’re investing in stronger local economies, stronger neighborhoods, and a stronger future for communities across Ohio.”

Details: Full List of New Brownfield Remediation Projects

Funding awarded through the Brownfield Remediation Program is used to assess and clean up industrial, commercial, and institutional brownfield sites that are abandoned, idled, or underutilized due to a known or potential release of hazardous substances or petroleum. Following site remediation, properties can be redeveloped to revitalize neighborhoods and attract new economic development.

“The Brownfield Remediation Program continues to show what’s possible when state and local partners come together with a shared vision for a better future,” said Director Mihalik. “By working alongside local leaders to clean up and prepare these sites for redevelopment, we’re helping remove long-standing barriers to progress and unlock new opportunities for our communities and the great people who call them home.”

Examples of new projects receiving awards include:

Greene County — Reddy Electric Company

$1,000,000 Cleanup/Remediation

This project will remediate extensive contamination at a 24-acre former industrial site in Cedarville, where decades of manufacturing left impacts to soil, groundwater, and site structures. Planned work includes asbestos abatement, hazardous waste removal, demolition of three unsafe buildings, excavation of petroleum-impacted soil, and installation of vapor mitigation systems where needed. The cleanup will support redevelopment of multiple existing buildings into warehouse and other uses.

Guernsey County Port Authority — D.O. Hall Business Center (Part 2)

$1,000,000 Cleanup/Remediation

This project, which previously received Brownfield Remediation Program funding in December 2024 and All Ohio Future Fund funding in February 2025, will see the completion of mine stabilization activities at a nine-acre parcel underlain by extensive abandoned underground coal workings, including grout injection through more than 100 existing boreholes to eliminate subsidence risks and ready the site for industrial development. Stabilization will protect more than 500 existing jobs.

Woda Cooper Companies, Inc. (Franklin County) — Lofts at 40 Long

$1,000,000 Cleanup/Remediation

This project will complete asbestos abatement, lead-based paint mitigation, and selective demolition inside the historic former downtown Columbus YMCA building. Woda Cooper Companies is leading the redevelopment of the building into 121 affordable apartments serving 268 residents. Cleanup will modernize the structure to current safety standards and preserve key architectural elements. The project is expected to create 604 new jobs.

City of Lorain (Lorain County) — Lorain Pellett Terminal Cleanup

$999,760 Cleanup/Remediation

This project provides gap funding to support installation of a critical sanitary lift station and management of impacted soils at the former Lorain Pellet Terminal, a 20-acre waterfront brownfield previously funded through the Brownfield Remediation Program. Soil excavation associated with the lift station requires characterization, segregation, disposal, and restoration to maintain compliance. The improvement is essential for site readiness and will enable a major mixed-use redevelopment.

Summit County Land Reutilization Corporation — Quaker Square Remediation

$1,000,000 Cleanup/Remediation

This project will conduct mold, asbestos, and biological waste remediation, along with selective interior demolition, at the historic Quaker Square complex in downtown Akron. The environmental cleanup will prepare more than 400,000 square feet of vacant buildings for major mixed-use redevelopment featuring new housing, hotel rooms, retail, office space, and improved public areas. The revitalization is anticipated to support substantial private investment.

Williams County Land Reutilization Corporation — Former Kunkle School

$649,952 Cleanup/Remediation

This project will complete asbestos abatement and full demolition of the deteriorated former Kunkle School building, followed by compliance reporting and preparation for redevelopment. Cleanup will ready the site for new single family housing development through the Welcome Home Ohio program, supporting rural housing expansion in Madison Township.

Funding Source and How to Apply

This round of funding was made possible with support from the Ohio General Assembly in the most recent biennium budget bill, House Bill 96, which allocated $200 million toward the program. As required by the bill, $1 million has been reserved for applicants in each of Ohio’s 88 counties for Fiscal Year 2026, with awards being made via a merit-based process.

Following today’s awards announcement, 46 counties have Brownfield Remediation Program set-aside funding remaining, up to $1 million per county. Applications for additional projects in these counties will open May 18, 2026.

Projects that assess or remediate brownfield properties are eligible for funding. Entities that contributed to the contamination of properties are not eligible to apply.

The Brownfield Remediation Program is part of Governor Mike DeWine’s Ohio BUILDS Initiative, which focuses on supporting targeted solutions that impact quality of life, such as water infrastructure improvements, broadband expansion, brownfield redevelopment, and the demolition of blighted buildings.

Applications will open from 10 a.m. May 18, 2026, through 11:59 p.m. on June 5. Remaining counties with available funding must submit new applications for future awards. Previously submitted applications will not be updated.

For more information on how to apply, including grant guidelines and a link to the application, visit development.ohio.gov.